Jason Parrott

Southeast Iowa Correspondent

Jason Parrott

Jason is the Southeast Iowa News Correspondent. He established Tri States Public Radio's news bureau in Keokuk in September 2003. The bureau has moved from his apartment to the Hotel Iowa before landing in its current location at the Daily Gate City newspaper at 1016 Main. Jason provides short- and long-form news coverage from southeast Iowa, northeast Missouri, and portions of west-central Illinois. Jason covers multiple governmental boards including the Keokuk City Council, the Lee County Board of Supervisors and the Burlington School Board. Jason was born in Burlington, IA and grew up in neighboring Henderson County before graduating from Monmouth High School. He graduated from WIU in 2002 with Bachelor’s Degrees in Communications and History. While in Macomb, he was a member of the WIU Track & Field team, serving as Captain during his senior year. Jason received his Master’s Degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield in 2003. He and his wife Jamie, a middle school teacher, have called Quincy home since 2007. They have three dogs (Howie, Sunny and Sadie) and they volunteer with the Quincy Humane Society. During Jason’s free time, he enjoys watching sports, spending time with friends, playing fantasy football and traveling to the Lake of the Ozarks with his wife.

Find this Person On

There is a new requirement for Burlington police officers following a fatal officer-involved shooting in January. Chief Doug Beaird said all officers must take a U.S. Department of Justice training course on how to react to incidents in which a vicious dog is present.

"It's an online training," said Beaird. "It's like (60-75 minutes) of different videos. The Department of Justice worked with the Chicago Police Department and did some violent dog encounter-type training."

Beaird said the department is also trying to set up some hands-on training for officers.

Rick Carter's lawsuit against Lee County is finally over after the Iowa Supreme Court denied his latest request for review. The denial came in the form of a one sentence statement from Chief Justice Mark Cady: "After consideration by this court, en banc, further review of the above-captioned case is denied."

Emergency responders will tell you the worst time to prepare for a disaster is in the middle of a disaster. So a new response plan for the Mississippi River should have local personnel ready to spring into action.

The proposed Dakota Access pipeline could bring an economic boom to communities along its 1,100+ mile path stretching from the Bakken Oil Fields in North Dakota to the small town of Pakota in southern Illinois. One Iowa-based economist wants to make sure residents and local governments tame their expectations from the project.